Explanation for forgetting: session 9 Flashcards
Why do we forget?
- interference
- context
- brain damage
What types of interference are there?
- proactive: previous learning interferes with new learning
- retroactive: recent learning interferes with previous learning
Is this proactive or retroactive?
Learning to drive in a manual car but buying an automatic and you keep trying to reach out for the gear stick
Proactive
Is this proactive or retroactive?
Been in France driving on right side of the road now back in England and get in the passenger seat instead of driving seat
Retroactive
What is an experiment focused on proactive and retroactive?
Underwood & Postman 1960
1) participants in two groups
2) group A learn list of word pairs
3) group A asked to learn second list
4) group B asked to learn first list of words only
Both groups asked to recall and group B recalled first list more accurately
What was the aim of Underwood and Postman’s experiment?
To see if new learning interferes with previous learning
What was Godden and Baddeleys aim?
To see if those who learned and are tested in the same environment will recall more information than those who learn and are tested in different environments
What was Godden & Baddeleys method?
1) participants were deep sea divers divided into four groups
2)
- group 1 learn and recall underwater
- group 2 learn underwater recall on shore
- group 3 learn and recall on shore
- group 4 learn on shore recall underwater
What are the two types of brain damage?
Retrograde amnesia: inability to recall anything prior to accident
Anterograde amnesia : inability to learn new information
Why does retrieval failure happen?
When we encode new memories we also store information which occurred around it. If we can’t recall it it can be because we’re not in a similar situation
